Falling Forward

What amazes me about spring is that regardless of how brutally hard the winter has been, without exception, the leaves bud, the flowers bloom, the grass turns green and even the weeds (unfortunately) sprout. Winter cannot and does not prevent spring from falling forward!

I’m left with the question then, where do they (the trees, the grass, and the flowers) all get their strength from?

Of course the answer is that within nature itself is a hidden strength that sometimes becomes invisible due to circumstances, but without fail overcomes all the challenges of winter and eventually springs forward, demonstrating to all of creation that nothing, not even the harshest winter, can hide it or prevent it from rising again. It’s an amazing lesson for us all.

Have you ever asked the same question about life?

I know of so many people, that regardless of their difficulties, who are able to “fall forward”. Falling forward simply means that, as was written by some wise individual, “It’s not how many times you fall down but rather how many times you get up that matter”. So for some, the challenges of life may cause them to fall but regardless they are able to summon the strength to get back up and go forward. And there are some who do it over and over again.

Where do such people get their strength from?

Strength to overcome life’s challenges may come from several sources.

1. Strength cultured over time from life’s experiences.
2. Strength through the example provided by others.
3. Strength from a genetic advantage (mental, intellectual, emotional).
4. Strength from our learning in books and stories we read.
5. Strength provided by our family.
6. Strength from our practice of meditation and prayer.
7. Strength given by our network of friends.
8. And sometimes, just an “unknown strength” we did not know we had.

Several years ago I was involved in a restructuring of one of my businesses with the Smith Group of Companies. We were close to bankruptcy and I was close to burnout. For many years (after I had been appointed President), I was part of a CEO peer group. Upon my first appointment as President in my late thirties, I believed it was necessary to create an advisory relationship with other CEOs to help me in developing my judgment and decision making as I assumed greater roles and responsibilities. I remember attending one of my CEO sessions, and going into it, I was weary and worn from dealing with such debilitating business issues. I was expecting some pity, sympathy and TLC from my “likeminded CEOs”. What I got instead was a strong rebuke and increased pressure to stay focused on the job at hand. I left that meeting somewhat disappointed and for a while discouraged. Later I spoke with one of my “CEO Buddies”, Sab Ravalli, and he explained it this way.

Sab said it would not have been helpful if all they did was express sympathy and took some pity on the struggles in front of me. Rather, the best support they could provide me given the situation was to help me stay focused, to ensure I was thinking properly, and my judgment and decisions were sound. He explained the difference between “good time friends” and “real friends”. Real friends give, good time friends take. It was easy for me to criticize what they had done since I was not able to see and understand at first the actual support and strength they were providing.

I have never forgotten that lesson from Sab. I have several friends in my personal and professional networks who have helped me stay on the straight and narrow. In times of discouragement, confusion, weakness and vulnerability, the strength that I needed was given by those friends. And of course it would be wrong for me not to say that my wife Linda has been such a great source of strength in my life, more than I ever deserved.

There is an advantage that LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  provides. As business and social networking sites, it allows me (us) to list and identify all the friends in our network. At any one time I/we can draw on those in our network or we can make ourselves available to those who need real help. I have a site on LinkedIn that has identified hundreds in my professional network. I also have a business Facebook site that identifies some (“a few”) real friends in business. And I have a family Facebook site that gathers all of my immediate family together. If anything, it has shown me that in my network, I can draw on many for strength. It is a great feeling and provides much reassurance since though the joy of spring and summer is upon us, winter will undoubtedly come again.

The challenging part is that much time is required in cultivating good friends and there is a danger that social networking sites cause us to neglect that. Just as a good harvest requires much planting, fertilizing, weeding and cultivating, so does the development of our professional and personal networks or relationships. Remember that technology is intended to be an enabler, not a replacement!

Nature does have a lot of inner strength. But it is amazing what results from a healthy relationship between nature and humans. My garden will grow for awhile unattended, but with my full involvement it will flourish.

The ability to fall forward is very much then dependent on the total sum of your channels of strength. Those who have fallen and get back up quickly and even stronger seemed to have understood that.

Happy New Year!

I recently visited a store where this quote was on the wall behind the sales counter: “Experience is a hard teacher for it gives you the test first and the lesson later!” 

As we begin another year, like most of you I find myself saying, “Where has the time gone?” It’s not only 2010 that has disappeared so fast but a whole decade! As I do look back, we began the 21st century paranoid about the disruption to our world from a possible computer breach brought on by what the techies called “Y2K”. But it never happened! Then we ended the decade paranoid about the disruption to our world from a possible economic collapse which was called the “great recession”. But that massive worldwide disruption never happened! In between those ten years, how many things were we worried about that never happened to the extent we thought they would? Or even if we look at the things that did happen that caused us fear and anxiety, how many of those things did we overcome and leave behind us? No doubt we all can quote so many examples. Why then do we worry so much about tomorrow? Why do we allow our fears to prevent us from having a full and abundant life?

I added a few extra vacation days to the holidays in order to relax after a busy schedule. I was really interested in seeing the movie “The King’s Speech” after hearing so many good reviews about it. The movie was a great lesson in how we allow our fears to paralyze us and rob us of the enormous opportunity to contribute to and receive from what life has to offer. But it was also a great lesson that with the support of family and friends, discipline and training, those fears can be replaced with drive and motivation to be the people we are capable of becoming regardless. How King George was able to overcome his fears and deliver the King’s Speech was itself very motivating but the actual content of the “King’s Speech” was equally as uplifting. You’ll have to see it yourself, if you haven’t already, to know what I mean.

I sometimes wonder why the New Year calendar begins with the first full month of winter, itself a cold and dreary time of year especially since it follows a month of excitement and celebration. The winter can be a tough season to endure. But then I realize I missed an important truth. If I can not only get through but turn January into a month of excitement rather than a time of resentment, how much more wonderful will spring and summer be!

Inspired by Jim Rohn’s The Art of Exceptional Living, just like there are four seasons, there are four lessons that are crucial to your life. By becoming aware of them, learning from them, and applying them, there is no doubt that you will craft a very fulfilling life (authored by Frederic Premji).

Handle the Winters
Every year, winter comes. It always comes. We deal with it by preparing for it. Whether it’s changing our clothing or changing our way of life, we always get ready for winter; because we know it’s coming. The same applies to your life. Rough times WILL come. No life goes smoothly without a problem from beginning to end. Thus, you have to be ready for it, for when it does come, you are not stuck in the cold without a coat. Be ready to handle the winters in your own life.

Take Advantage of the Spring
Every year, after a long winter, comes the spring. This is a time where opportunities arise. Flowers blossom and creatures come out of their hibernation. The same thing applies within your life. After a challenging time, you will be faced with a great opportunity. It is your duty to take full advantage of the spring when it pops up. This is your moment to plant the seeds of greatness to come. You will never see all the beauty that is in life and in nature on this planet if nature decided not to awaken one year in the spring! It does though because it is meant to do so. Hold your own existence to that same standard. Make your springs the springboard to getting where you want to go.

Protect Your Summer
After having planted your seeds in the spring, soon the summer will come. This is a time where you can reap the benefits of your crops. As well as being a time of joy and comfort, it is also a time to be careful. As Jim Rohn points out, “all good will be attacked”. If you are not careful, your crops will be either stolen, destroyed, or spoiled. Therefore you must do whatever it takes to protect your crops. Once you have achieved something in your life, you must defend it. You must stand up for it, and protect its value. Otherwise you may find yourself losing it.

Take Responsibility in the Fall
As the autumn comes, the trees change color, lose their leaves, and the weather gets cooler. As you gear up for another winter, it is the best time to take full responsibility of what happened in the previous seasons, both good and bad. This is the time where you can open yourself to learning the lessons that the previous seasons taught you and put everything into perspective. They say that the fall is the time of the year where there is more depression than any other time. This is due to people not taking such responsibilities and learning from previous successes and/or mistakes. Only by doing so can you be ready once more to handle another winter that is coming, and plan for the following spring and summer.

So what season of life are you in? Are you beginning to experience a winter of discouragement blowing like an icy wind through your life? Or do you still feel the exuberance of spring renewal, or the lazy warmth of summer rest? Perhaps the winds of change have brought an autumn of reflection in your life. 

Be determined that through each season of the year, you will learn from your experiences so that you are challenged and encouraged to discover what's truly important in your own life. When the test does come, and it eventually will, you (and I) will be able to pass with honours. That is the secret to abundant living!

Don’t Wear Sandals!

Okay… summer is here again and that means it’s time to wear sandals! Or is it? 

I’ve become a recent fan of Dr. Oz, or some may call him the “Wizard of Oz”. He has a daily TV show that features stories on how to improve our lives by making the right health choices. On one show he featured a podiatrist, a doctor who specializes in foot care. The audience was told “Don’t wear sandals”. That is, of course, unless you’re at the beach, which is the ONLY exception to the rule. Needless to say, this was shocking! How many of us long for the change in weather so we can throw off the boots, the shoes and the socks and get as close as we can to being barefoot. It is a great release, freedom and comfort. When I worked and travelled through the Middle East, I admired and envied those who had the freedom to wear sandals 24/7 for work and play. So, here in Canada when spring has sprung, sandals (or flip flops) become the norm. And for many, that norm is even brought into the workplace, since sandals have come in their own right a fashion statement and accessory. But again, the experts warn, “Don’t wear sandals unless you are at the beach”. It just seems to be such a heretical statement. But read the reasons why it isn’t:

“Wearing sandals/flip flops was once considered a fashion faux pas; it was a shoe reserved only for beach goers or a quick stroll to the mailbox on a hot summer day. However, in recent years, wearing sandals/flip flops has become considerably more fashion forward, if not perfectly acceptable footwear for lunch, a dinner date, or even a congressional meeting at the White House. In fact, wearing flip flops has become so popular that many major designers from J. Crew to Lands’ End are designing them for the masses. However, sports medicine and podiatry experts are warning that wearing sandals/flip flops could be bad for our bodies. There are many reasons why wearing sandals/flip flops could be harmful to our bodies and the scientific studies are there to back it up. As a rule, sandals/flip flops are not particularly supportive shoes even if they are comfortable and cool to wear. There is virtually no arch support to a sandal/flip flop shoe and wearing them excessively can in fact impact the feet, legs, and lower back.  Further, by sheer nature of design, wearing sandals/flip flops causes us to change our gait. A shoe that isn’t exactly designed to conform to the foot, the sandal/flip flop doesn’t stay on the foot well. In order to walk without losing a shoe, people subconsciously change the way they walk. Over a long period of time, excessive wearing of sandals/flip flops could lead to foot, leg and back pain. The long-term effect of wearing sandals/flip flops has been cautioned against, but some podiatrists also warn of short-term effects. Wearing sandals/flip flops instead of more appropriate footwear for certain activities, especially when excessive walking is involved, can lead to injured feet and ankles. The stability of sandals/flip flops is lacking, making it more likely to slip, trip, fall and subsequently twist an ankle.” 

But we chose to ignore the advice of experts and then complain when our selfish decision results in calamity!

That last point was made real to me when a few months ago during the regular spring cleanup at the cottage I began my chores wearing sandals. I was raking and blowing leaves off the property at the water’s edge which is quite steep. I lost my balance, my ankle twisted and I even ripped off the nail from my big toe (ouch!). I scolded myself for being so careless as to attempt such an activity without the proper footwear. What a difference the right work boots would have made to my health and performance!

But a more important message was made real to me. 

How many of us attempt to walk the journey of life without being properly prepared?

We fail to prepare ourselves financially, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Then, when a crook in the road attempts to throw us off our planned direction, a steep hill seems impossible to climb, the torrential rain tries to blind us or a pothole shakes our wellbeing, we lose control resulting in unnecessary harm and injury. In contrast, if we were well prepared and balanced in all aspects of our life, for the most part, life’s journey can be quite an enjoyable adventure in spite of its surprises along the way.

"On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him." - Buddha

I also discovered a second important message from this simple experience about the ongoing journey called “corporate life”. Are our companies prepared for gruelling and lengthy business battles? We wonder why the competition (i.e. “the enemy”) is doing better than us or how we are going to fight an economic storm. But when we examine what we are wearing on our corporate feet, it is no wonder our companies are weakened and hurting! We lack direction, we don’t have the proper technology, we failed to map out the right processes, we hire the wrong people, we won’t invest in training to develop our talent, and we ignore the importance of a winning culture.  Our companies simply have on the wrong footwear to win the battle! We choose to ignore the advice of business experts leading to our eventual regret!

"One defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant!" - Sun Tau - The Art of War

For many of us whether personal or corporate, life isn’t a beach. So, don’t wear sandals!

Seasons

What season of life are you in?

I remember overhearing my two children who have had the uncommon benefit of travelling extensively around the world, saying to each other: “We love coming home to Canada; we wouldn’t live anywhere else; we love having and experiencing the four seasons our country offers”. 

Though across Canada the renowned Canadian winter was less evident this past year, the transition to spring is a welcomed event. For several months we arise in the dark to go to work and leave work to go home in the dark. Winter’s bitter cold is capable of piercing the most advanced micro fibres or the traditional wool and down used to keep us warm. While autumn attempts to prepare us for the advent of winter, it is the toughest season to bear. January and February, well thank goodness they are over. 

But now spring is upon us. The daylight hours extend their reach into our lives with hope and excitement. The increasing strength of the sun’s rays warm not only bodies but our thoughts as well. Our conversations are more positive, our faces express fun and laughter and our step has that extra burst of energy. We slowly watch the sprouting of flowers, trees and shrubs. And without fail, we anxiously await the celebration of the first lighting of the barbeque.

Spring represents a rebirth of nature, a resurrection of life.

In my readings, a favourite author of mine wrote a book about the “Seasons of Life”. I read it a long time ago but was recently reminded to take it out and read it again. One of his opening comments is:

“Did you experience a winter of discouragement blowing like an icy wind through your mind? Or do you feel the exuberance of spring renewal, the lazy warmth of summer rest? Perhaps the winds of change have brought an autumn of reflection in your heart.”

From my family of five brothers and one sister, and I being the youngest brother, I see the seasons of life acted out in our lives daily. My Dad is gone, and my Mom is reaching a season in life where she is contemplating moving into a nursing home. My brother Harold (#3) just announced his retirement, the first for us all. Now when the brothers convene at the Hillier family camp in Huntsville for that quarterly update of “what’s happening,” the conversation is primarily about when the rest of us plan to retire and what we will do with our time. My brother Lloyd (#4) for the first time in his life, due to a restructuring at MDS where he was VP, is now facing “transition”. A season in life many of us have experienced and thankfully successfully survived. And I, the youngest, will see my second child graduate from university in April 2010. My children, Richard and Joanna, will now seek out their own careers, cut their own path and live the seasons of life, many times over. Linda and I will begin the season as “empty nesters” and hopefully experience a rebirth of some sort of our own relationship, given that the past was smothered with other “seasonal” matters. And of course, we watch as our bodies’ age, their strength and energy decline gradually and graciously, with the odd health challenge thrown in to remind us not only of our mortality but more importantly our priorities.

Nature’s seasons are so reflective of our own lives. With change there is a consistency. Winter is gone but spring is here. Spring grows into summer. Summer fades into autumn. Autumn falls into winter. And with consistency, nature repeats itself over and over, without fail. 

Consider these questions about the “Seasons of Life”. 

(The questions are different, but each answer is the same.) 

What will guard us against foolish extremes?
What characterizes those who are habitually successful in sports or sales or some skill?
What single quality in a business builds respect deeper than any other?
What brings security in relationships?
What makes us choose a particular brand name over all others?
What’s needed most by parents in the home?
What draws you to the same restaurant time and again?
What do you want most from your phone service or internet provider?
What makes a good wine?

CONSISTENCY. That’s the answer to all nine questions, and you know it’s true. 

You can count on it. It’ll be there tomorrow just like it was yesterday… free from silly moods, sudden changes, or fickle fads. Early in the day or late at night, consistency stands firm. When pain or hardship bites, consistency doesn’t bleed. When the majority is tired and irritable, consistency is stable and resilient. Not insensitive, boring… but reliable, faithful. Not opposed to change or reason, but trustworthy. Not stubborn, but solid. Yes, that’s it: solid. It’s the stuff most mothers are made of when their little ones get sick… 

It reveals itself in faithful employees who show up on time, roll up their sleeves, and commit themselves more to doing the job than watching the clock. Diligence is its brother… dependability, its partner… discipline, its parent. 

CONSISTENCY. A living model of patience, determination, and strength — regardless of shifty, rootless times. The blasts of ridicule and criticism may punch it in the face — but consistency stands and takes it as silently as a bronze statue takes the tempest. One poet calls it “a jewel,” another “an anchor of iron.” It knows little of ups or downs, highs or lows, blue Mondays or holiday hangovers. It hates tardiness and absenteeism. It thrives on sacrifice and unselfishness. It’s an obvious mark of maturity. It’s hanging in there day in and day out in spite of everything that could get you sidetracked. 

Nature’s seasons have consistency. While we watch the changes nature brings us, nature is an example to us of consistent orderliness among the change. 

Let’s apply consistency to our own lives regardless of what season of life we find ourselves in.

‘Tis the Season

From 2002 until 2007, my career was in consulting. Half of my time was spent working in the Middle East and the other half in North America. My business partner at the time was Mansoor who originated from Pakistan but lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for 18 years. We owned and operated The Corporate LIFE Centre International Inc. My Middle East work was concentrated primary in Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) with some assignments in Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai and Egypt. For five years while travelling back and forth to the KSA (i.e. Jeddah, Dahman and Riyadh), I worked with such firms as: ZFP (the largest architectural and engineering firm in the Middle East), the King Fahd University of Minerals and Petroleum, Sipchem (a billion dollar petrochemical business), and SBG, the largest construction company in KSA and one of the largest in the world with over 100,000 employees. I had the opportunity to learn a lot about this part of the world but most importantly I developed several new friendships with individuals I would never have thought of as ever being part of my life. I also was taught a few invaluable lessons. 

My first visit to KSA was not unlike any other international trip I have made. But upon entering the country I was surprised. It is interesting how the media can wrongly shape one’s perception about a country and its people. I was greeted at the customs desk by my sponsor Siraj. The process was straightforward and soon I was on my way through the streets of Jeddah to the Hilton Hotel. Jeddah is a port city of several million people. It is very modern, clean and has its own historical “old Jeddah” where I saw the actual former living quarters of “Lawrence of Arabia” and what some consider the tomb of “Eve”. The Hilton Hotel was located along a line of several western hotel chains overlooking the Red Sea. Peering out my room’s window, it was as if you were in the Caribbean… a very beautiful setting with palm trees lining the road and water’s edge. 

Once I was settled, Siraj, Mansoor and I met for dinner to discuss the assignment ahead of us. People were strolling along the boardwalk , sitting on the grass or lying on carpets laid out on the sand and enjoying the beautiful and peaceful surroundings. Siraj taught me my first lesson. He told me that is was their custom to ensure their guest’s needs were totally taken care of for the first three days of their visit. So, I, being the guest, was introduced to Saudi hospitality. It was an amazing experience. Our client, SBG, ensured that whatever was required to make me comfortable and relaxed during this first visit to Jeddah, would be done.

And their hospitality didn’t expire after three days but continued for the two weeks I was there. Everyone at SBG was advised of my coming. A parking spot was provided in the executive parking lot, a private office and meeting room was assigned, a butler was on duty from the time I arrived until I left to ensure anything I needed was afforded me, and the executives of the company set aside time to not only take me out for dinner but to challenge my 4x4-ing skills among the desert sand dunes. But the most amazing experience was one of several evening dinners, laid out on carpets underneath the starry sky in the desert while we all sat, talked and laughed about life itself. 

We discovered we all had the same wants and needs in life: health, family, security and happiness. But they did ask for one thing from me in return: while it is custom to ensure the guest’s plate is always filled with food, I was asked to oblige their hospitality by eating the brains from the lamb that was served for dinner. So with a spoon full of lamb’s brains in one hand and a can of Coca Cola (I demanded a Coke since I figured it would kill anything I ate) I met my guests’ demands and was then accepted completely into their circle of friends. I quickly realized they also had a great sense of humour and I fell for it. Upon leaving two weeks later, several members of this family-owned business honoured me with gifts to take back to Canada. When I did get back home, and after unpacking, I discovered they not only had a gift for me, but they also sought out the names of my children, Richard and Joanna, and my wife, Linda, and had special gifts for each of them as well. Inside our curio cabinet in the dining room is a beautiful crystal decanter set, that has been appraised in excess of $7,000, and is a tangible reminder of the value these newfound friends placed on my visit and acquaintance. To this day, I regard my acquaintances in Saudi Arabia as my friends and I theirs. 

While one may cite the above as a single experience, there were so many others. We were travelling from Riyadh to Jeddah with an appointment to see Ahmed, the President of Sipchem. Our flight was late and so we arrived at Sipchem’s office late. Upon meeting Ahmed we apologized for the delay, explained the situation, but then had to advise him our meeting had to be shortened in order for us to catch our next flight to Dubai. Now, we were meeting Ahmed to make a pitch for a piece of business that other very large consulting firms were also bidding on and our chances of securing would be low. Our flight situation was not helping our cause. But Ahmed didn’t reject or scold us, rather his first concern was our getting to the airport on time to catch our flight and to achieve that he ordered his personal driver to take us to the airport. This again was an amazing experience of Saudi hospitality that I experienced time after time during my several years of travel there. It helped shape my own attitude of hospitality.

“Tis the Season”

During the month of December, it is the season when there will be many lunches, dinners, parties and festivities. It will all be very enjoyable and we will be at times impressed by various forms of hospitality. But come the New Year, we will put it all behind us and we will cocoon ourselves into our winter caves only to come out when the ice thaws and the snow crystals turn to rain. And we will again look for another reason to celebrate. But I am reminded of what Siraj told me, how Sheik Abdulla welcomed me and how Ahmed supported me. They not only said it but demonstrated it: “it is our custom, our practice, our way of life”!

May we adopt “peace on earth and goodwill towards men” as our custom, as our practice, as our way of life so that in all things we say and do, our neighbor will experience not just in December, but all year long the true meaning of the season. 

For businesses, the word and practice of “hospitality” is defined as “customer service”. I appreciate the reminders from our members that CMA’s hospitality or customer service requires constant focus and attention. Recently, I attended an accounting conference in Phoenix, Arizona. On this particular occasion, Linda accompanied me. The hospitality of the hotel was what one would expect from J. W. Marriott. They have a reputation for good customer service. Upon departure and in a cab to the airport, Linda discovered she had left her sweater in the closet of the room we stayed. The sweater wasn’t expensive so leaving it behind wasn’t going to cost us much. But she really liked that sweater so she called the hotel to see if by chance it was still in the room. The hotel concierge wasn’t able to tell her what she wanted to hear, but did say they would check and if it was, would send it to her home address. We arrived back in Toronto Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, the day after our arrival, there was a knock on the door and standing there was a FedEx agent with a parcel for Linda sent prepaid by J. W. Marriott. Inside that parcel, neatly folded was Linda’s sweater. We are now J. W. Marriott fans (“friends”) for life. 

You can call it hospitality or customer service. You can speak of individuals or corporations. It doesn’t matter. The principles are all the same and they are absolute.

It is not “Tis the Season”. It is how life should be.

The Red Tool Box

My dad was born in Cambellton, Newfoundland, the youngest of 7 kids. His mom died of cancer when he was very young and his father was not well. This caused Dad to drop out of school early and go to work in the logging camps to help support his family. He eventually got married and moved to Toronto. There he had two kids. But an unfortunate car accident in Scarborough left him seriously injured and he had to go back to Newfoundland and live with my mom’s parents until he recuperated. That took two years. Eventually he went back to work as a carpenter, had four more kids and settled in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. It was always his dream to return to Toronto. 

Dad didn’t earn a lot of money. He worked six days a week and as much overtime as possible. With five boys and a girl, there were many hungry mouths to feed. We never had much in the form of material goods. I, being the youngest of the five brothers, wore hand-me-downs until I outgrew my siblings and I needed my own clothes. 

One consequence of the car accident was that my dad was left with an impaired heart. He spent much time in and out of a doctor’s office and hospitals. We lived with the fear of Dad having a fatal heart attack all of our lives. But he kept working and striving for a good life for his family. Eventually, in December 1971, my dad decided to sell everything he had and move us all to Toronto. I remember arriving on my birthday, December 19th, at Union Station blinded by the bright lights of the city. It was bitterly cold and we settled in an apartment on Keele Street, in Downsview. Everything was so different from what I was used to. But then and there began a new life for us all.

In the later years of his life, Dad suffered from Alzheimer’s. The last few years of his life were not the best. He lived in a long term care nursing home and his declining health made life very difficult. Though always a fighter, my dad finally called it quits and left us in a peaceful sleep. The day was August 19, 2004. He was 79. That was five years ago.

On the anniversary of my dad’s death, I happened to go down to the basement of our house. We moved eight months ago from a detached house with a finished basement to a townhouse with an unfinished basement. Needless to say, there is a lot of stuff in the basement of our townhouse that used to have a place in our house, but now is mixed among a lot of things. I was putting up some shelves in my daughter’s bedroom and needed a few wall plugs. As I fumbled around, hidden underneath a bunch of junk, I saw a small red metal tool box. 

Many years ago when I was visiting my dad at his apartment in Markham, he pulled out of his closet a red tool box. He called me over and said he wanted to give a few tools that he no longer had any use for. So he filled it up with a hammer, various screw drivers, a saw and some other items I never knew what they were for. I took the red tool box home and brought it downstairs to my storage area. Over the years, the red tool box lost a lot of its contents, became dented and eventually forgotten, until now.

My dad never accumulated any wealth. When he died he had $10k in his bank account and that was the extent of his life’s savings. That money was applied to the cost of his funeral. None of his children received any financial inheritance. Unlike many of my friends who talk about what they have inherited and are expecting to inherit, that was never an expectation of mine. But what I did inherit was that red tool box.

As I opened that worn red tool box, and looked at some of the tools in it that had belonged to my dad, there was a striking realization that my dad’s sacrifice became my opportunity, and that was what I inherited from him. He sacrificed his life and all that he had to provide a greater opportunity to his kids, so that their lives would become better than his. The tools he gave me were not made out of metal or steel, but were carved out of his daily labour. My dad was a man of strong conviction, knew what he believed, and was loyal to his beliefs and to his family. He taught me to have a strong work ethic, what was right and wrong, not to let people take advantage, and to work hard and strive for excellence. He properly prepared me for life. Then I wondered, what have I done with my inheritance? Would my dad be proud! 

I decided to fix that red tool box, clean its contents find the rest of my dad’s tools and put them back in it. I keep it as a reminder of the sacrifices he made on my behalf, and to thank him for the opportunity he gave me. 

Last year at our annual CMA Past Chairs Dinner, one of the guests gave me a book to read. It was a history of CMA Ontario. While reading it, I was impressed by the story of the founders of CMA Ontario. It was amazing how a small team of people, with no money, no infrastructure and no materials, managed to build the foundation for what has become a great accounting designation today. It was amazing to read the record of their sacrifice, as they were all volunteers, and of their commitment and dedication.

 I have the pleasure as the current President, of celebrating the success of CMA Ontario. We have approximately 25,000 members now (students and certified CMAs). We will be moving soon to 25 York Street with 27,000 square feet of space, half of which is dedicated to our new Professional Development Institute and the other to administration. We have expanded member services, professional programs and research. But it is our founder’s sacrifices that have created such opportunities. I hope each CMA member does not forget about the sacrifices that were made to create opportunities for us, and that we leverage on our CMA inheritance to continually build a great organization and designation. 

As a member of CMA Ontario each one of us has been provided our own tool box that contains all the resources required to build a great career and life. Let’s not let ignore it. Let’s use it.